5 Ways to Spread the Word About a Cause You Really Believe In, From Meredith Blake, Social Media Genius at ProSocial

Did you read Glamour's exclusive story, “The Secret My Family Kept for 100 Years”, right here on Inspired or in our August 2012 issue? A quickie recap: It's about a family whose women were sex workers for four generations, until one woman finally busted the cycle. Though sex trafficking seems like it's so far from home, the issue is something that happens here in the U.S., and one reason the problem has had such heightened awareness is from a major campaign spearheaded by Meredith Blake of ProSocial.

We nominate Blake for a major We Want Her Job situation. A lawyer, organizer, and social entrepreneur, after working in non-profits for 10 years and then jumping into Hollywood to help mobilize the entertainment industry to take action on campaigns, she created ProSocial five years ago with her experience from both worlds.

Blake helps clients in non-profits create high-impact social campaigns create that'll move people on a large scale: that means big-time involvement, major education, and movement that'll affect tangible change. And it's worked.

Although we can't all move mountains the way Blake does--15 years of experience and a guru's view on the world will help--we do have causes we want to champion, and ways we can do it. And Blake has tips to share on how to do it, so I asked her to break 'em down for us! Her biggest 'n' baddest resource?

1. Social media!

But wait--there's more to just tweeting, Facebooking, pinning, and reblooging to get you noticed, especially when you're trying to drum up support for a world-changing issue. Blake says you want to build something beyond "awareness," which is just getting your noise into the mix--you want to make sure you're getting the right word out.

"The power of social media is really important," Blake says. "It’s a critical element in changemaking, but it’s not enough on it’s own. We also have to find real world bridge building to find change making on its own."

Here are four more steps to building those bridges, and getting the word out for a cause you really believe in:

2. See what resources are already in place backing the cause you're looking to champion. "See what’s aligned with your mission already. Understanding who the vested stakeholders already are." Blake suggests finding who's "out in the trenches already" getting their hands dirty and activating connections to them.

3. Look beyond the surface of your issue. What are the other issues that are less obvious? What’s going to incentize young people to participate? Blake makes an example of a anti-sex-trafficking campaign she worked on which turned into an amazing service-learning movement. You can spread your message by finding other ways to bring people in to your issue.

4. Your new mantra: Movements are sometimes started by one but furthered by the many. Blake says to ask yourself: "How do we start to scale up?" The answer: Connectivity. Start connecting on a local level and build from there--you can gather 15 people on a community level to make an impact.

5. Have the knowledge about the issue. Above all, Blake says you can't make a difference if you don't know your stuff through and through. "Understand what it is that you’re talking about and find the facts"--that means both digitally and in-person.

OK, OK, I want to make a difference, but I can't be a full-time world changer, you say. I hear you, and so does Meredith Blake! "If you don’t have a ton of time, that’s where social media is really powerful," she says. And talk about your passion! "Don’t forget the importance of real world connections. Have coffee conversations, at work, school--weave your cause into fabric of what you know."

Are you inspired by Meredith Blake and ProSocial's work? What cause would you champion?